While almost seven in ten Canadians report being affected by delays from the Canada Post strike, opinions on where sympathies lie are split.
According to a poll published Wednesday by the Angus Reid Institute, most Canadians (34%) side with the Crown corporation, Canada Post. Only slightly less (29%) side with the striking workers. However, just under a quarter (23%) support neither group. The remaining 14% said they’re not sure where their sympathies lie.
The strike began on Nov. 15 as the Canadian Union of Postal Workers announced its 55,000 workers would begin a strike, which has already delayed around 10 million package deliveries.
A few weeks later, the United States Postal Service suspended all mail and package delivery to Canada due to the strike.
True North first reported that UPS and Purolator were told to freeze orders because the companies faced high volumes due to the Canada Post strike.
Almost all Canadians, 99%, were aware of the strike. Over one-third, 38%, had followed it closely and discussed it with friends and family. Nearly half, 45%, had seen some media coverage and had a few conversations about the strike. A lesser 16% had only scanned news headlines about the strike.
The Angus Reid Institute highlighted that workers were pushing for wage increases, sick benefits, and other concessions from Canada Post, like restructuring to include weekends and allowing for contract delivery.
“Canada Post has seen its share of the parcel delivery market drop by more than 60% pre-pandemic to less than 30% in 2023 as competitors like Amazon and FedEx have taken a bigger role in Canadians’ lives,” reads the poll.
The Canadian Federation of Independent Businesses revealed that the strike is costing Canadian small businesses $76.6 million daily, surpassing $1 billion as of Dec. 4.
Around 69% of small business owners want the Liberals to introduce back-to-work legislation.
“It’s not (the) Grinch who is about to steal Christmas. It’s Ottawa sitting idly on the sidelines while small businesses are losing crucial revenue and sales due to circumstances outside of their control. The Labour Minister recently said mediation talks have been suspended because the two parties remain too far apart to reach a deal and that a long labour conflict is a possibility, but he is the one who has the power to put an end to this mess,” said Corinne Pohlmann, Executive Vice-President of Advocacy for the federation.
She added that small businesses already missed out on the most important week of the year, Black Friday and that if the strike wasn’t settled this week, Canada Post would not be relevant for the holiday season due to the increasing backlog.
The levels by which Canadians were affected by the strike varied.
The poll found that 21% of Canadians reported significant mail delays, 47% were moderately impacted, and 32% were unaffected.
However, these levels are likely to worsen as Christmas comes closer.
“Given the scale of Canada Post’s visibility this time of year, it is perhaps unsurprising that the vast majority of Canadians say they have been following this story in recent weeks, and nearly all have heard about it, even if they haven’t scanned any headlines or read any stories,” reads the poll.
Angus Reid said that postal strikes usually hit seniors harder, as they rely more on traditional mailing methods. The polling agency also noted that Canada Post issues bills and government benefit payments.
However, the poll revealed a different picture.
At least three in five Canadians were negatively affected in every one of the country’s regions. Saskatchewan residents (79%) and Canadians aged 35–44 (75%) were hit hardest, while seniors aged 65+ were the least impacted (61%).
Voters who intended to vote Conservative in the next federal election were the most likely to side with Canada Post, with 45% of Conservative voters taking the postal agency’s side. The Conservatives were also most commonly siding with neither party, at 28%.
NDP voters were the most likely to side with the workers, with 56% saying they sided with them.
“NDP voters are the only group of partisans for which a majority are supportive of the (Canadian Union of Postal Workers),” reads the poll.